What happened on board Virgin Australia flight VA328? <\/p>\n
A Melbourne Airport spokesperson said on Sunday afternoon the airport \u201cresponded to a pan call from Virgin Australia flight VA328 from Brisbane after reports a vape had activated on board the aircraft\u201d.<\/p>\n
A passenger is understood to have alerted the crew when smoke was seen coming from the device.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a precaution and in accordance with standard procedures, emergency services were placed on standby,\u201d the airport spokesperson said. \u201cThe Boeing 737 aircraft landed safely and taxied to the gate where passengers were able to disembark normally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n Aviation\u00a0Rescue\u00a0firefighters\u00a0followed the\u00a0aircraft\u00a0as a precaution\u00a0and subsequently removed the device from the plane.\u00a0<\/p>\n A pan call is less urgent than a mayday call but describes a situation that\u00a0requires an aircraft to receive expedited arrival,\u00a0such as an\u00a0in-flight medical emergency<\/a>.<\/p>\n Are vapes a fire hazard on planes? <\/p>\n Vapes or e-cigarettes are powered by lithium-ion batteries, which are also widely used in mobile phones, computers, electric vehicles. These batteries charge quickly, deliver energy quickly and have long battery life.<\/p>\n However, lithium-ion battery fires<\/a> have increased in frequency in recent years. Last year, a fire that broke out on a Virgin Australia flight from Sydney to Hobart was believed been caused by a power bank in a passenger\u2019s carry-on luggage<\/a>.<\/p>\n The batteries in vaping products specifically have been blamed for a growing number of hazardous fires at landfill sites. In 2023, an incorrectly disposed vape caused a fire in a recycling truck<\/a> in Benalla, in north-east Victoria.<\/p>\n Prof Neeraj Sharma, a battery expert at the University of New South Wales, said lithium-ion battery devices such as vapes and power banks were not as well regulated as mobile phones or laptops and posed more of a fire risk. \u201cPeople get them from various locations,\u201d he said, citing a wide variation in manufacturing quality.<\/p>\n At the end of their life, most lithium-ion batteries \u201cjust slowly lose energy density\u201d and cannot store as much energy. For others, \u201cthe battery short circuits and then it suddenly stops working,\u201d Sharma said.<\/p>\n In other cases, thermal runaway \u2013 an uncontrollable increase in temperature \u2013 can result. \u201cThe components of the battery touch each other and generate localised heat,\u201d Sharma said. \u201cThat heat generates gas, the gas expands \u2026 and that whole thing can start to burn or explode depending on how severe it is.\u201d<\/p>\n Lithium-ion battery fires can reach high temperatures within seconds and release highly toxic gases. Because of their chemical components, burning batteries can develop self-sustaining flames that are difficult to extinguish.<\/p>\n Overheating and physical damage are the main causes of battery failure. People being careless with their vapes \u2013 leaving them in hot cars or dropping them, for example \u2013 could increase the likelihood of a subsequent thermal runaway event, as would initial manufacturing faults, Sharma said.<\/p>\n Sharma said changes in pressure during a flight could lead to thermal runaway, but that was unlikely to happen for most batteries. \u201cWe\u2019ve got lithium-ion batteries in space \u2013 they should be able to, and they do, handle [pressure changes].\u201d<\/p>\n If a small device such as a vape or phone catches fire, Dr Adam Best, an advanced lithium battery technology specialist at the CSIRO, recommends dropping it into water<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n